Colorado’s recall effort over gun laws carries on

Five months ago, as efforts to strengthen the nation’s gun laws languished on Capitol Hill, lawmakers in Colorado took matters into their own hands and passed some of the toughest gun laws in the country. But today, some of those lawmakers are seeing just how politically futile their support for gun control measures can be.

As a result of efforts from the NRA and other gun rights groups, two of the state senators who supported background checks and limits on ammunition magazines – Senators John Morse and Angela Giron – now face recall elections on Sept. 10. This kind of recall – one that is so blatantly based on political disagreement – is unprecedented, and it will mark the first legislative recall in Colorado history.

On Tuesday, reporting from Denver, Salon’s David Sirota joined NOW with Alex Wagner to discuss recall politics in the rocky mountain state and the recall’s national implications.

“They want to make a statement,” Sirota said of the recall effort, “to Colorado and to the rest of the country to legislators that if you vote for…common sense, modest gun control measures, you will face a price.”